“The crucifixion of Jesus put an end to all political-national hopes which his followers had pinned on him. Instead they turned to apocalypse for an explanation of his death and sought to reassure themselves by exalting him into a heavenly Messiah who was to reappear speedily on earth as a supernatural ruler. Thus arose in that century [1st century EV] the Judaeo-Christian sect which in time tore itself away from Judaism to found the Christian Church. The earliest adherents of this sect were Jews in all respects but one - they regarded Jesus as the Messiah. They made no other changes. They continued to go to the Temple, and presumably to the Synagogue, as they had been accustomed to do, and to all appearances conformed in every respect to the usual Jewish observances. Their belief that the Messiah had come was not a ground of division between them and other Jews. But within a few decades the Christian church under the influence of Paul was altering its conception of Jesus in a way that meant that he was no longer thought as merely human, and implied that he was in fact a second God - a belief which was a denial of the unity [uniqueness?] of God as Jews understood the term. Once this development had taken place accommodation of Jewish Christians within Judaism was no longer possible and the final rift between the two became inevitable.”
-- Isidore Epstein, Judaism, Ch. 11, "The Second Hebrew Commonwealth", p. 107, Penguin Books, UK, 1959
Any comments?
Well, the majority is not always right, and Paul admits he is being original.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous, who is "the majority" that you refer to, in this circumstance?
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